There are obviously some great, clued-in business owners but, more often than not, it’s the day-to-day staff of a business who’s far more aware of what the public wants and responds to, but unfortunately they’re not the ones with the capital and the resultant clout and, inevitably, the staff (and the customers) suffer. Hopefully, with the current outcry, the Nasser family will catch on before long…
The David closed during or not long after the initial shutdown of adult businesses in the city in the late ‘90s; I’m not sure what, if anything, is presently occupying that space.
What new theatre did the Public get after the collapse of the Selwyn? The present operator and, if I’m not mistaken, owner of the American Airlines Theater built on the site of the Selwyn is the Roundabout Theater Company. Also, did at least part of the Selwyn’s interior survive the collapse? Seeing a play there a couple of years ago, I spotted at least a few architectural elements within the auditorium which seemed something less than modern. Were those merely removed, preserved, and reinstalled in the rebuild/new construction or was every original element lost?
I very much suspect the State has officially been converted into and reopened as retail space, Jonathan; my suggestion would be to look elsewhere. Best of luck…
I think what ‘Manwithnoname’ is referring to is the two-year run from the time when General Cinemas opened the then-Wells Branch 8 in 1989 until the time they closed it in April of ‘91.
If it’s a record, it’s not by much. Loews opened a 20-screen all-stadium seating megaplex in the Pennsylvania town of North Versailles in October of 1999, only to see it get crushed by the competition another megaplex provided within a few miles down the road, and proceeded to shut it down in February of ‘01 as part of their then-bankruptcy proceedings. (The seats from that still-shuttered venue are used to this day in the Loews Theatre on 34th Street in midtown Manhattan.)
George C. Wolfe, then in the early years of his leadership of the Public, dropped the programming of the Little Theatre sometime around 1994. In a Village Voice article which ran not long thereafter, Fabiano Canosa, then without a regular film-booking home, expressed an interest in booking two of three screens of the then-23rd Street Triplex (now known as the two-cinema Chelsea West), which was at the time mostly a move-over house and venue for lesser genre product. Eventually, Canosa landed on his feet with not one, but two, steady gigs – at the Symphony Space/Thalia on 95th and Broadway and at the Anthology, at 2nd and 2nd in the East Village, positions both of which he holds to this day.
I did a search on the site for the Austin, Robert, but no match. I also searched some time back for a theatre you mentioned in response to one of my posts on the Nova Cinemas page a few months ago, the Astro, but found no info on that one either. What do you remember of those two theatres?
According to today’s Boston Globe, the demolition of the Gaiety is on hold until at least next week, at which point presiding Judge Keith C. Long is to determine the legitimacy of the claim made by the owner of the Glass Slipper strip club his business would be harmed by the clearing of the Gaiety property.
While ‘The Aviator’ was having its ‘premiere’ at the Ziegfeld last night, its little-publicized 12-day run (four-walled by Miramax for award-voting committees but with all remaining tickets to the public) at the Angelika was coming to an end.
It’s sad how a porn booking policy has obscured the architectural value and quite often the historic worth of so many classic movie theatres which were later demolished without so much of a peep from the public.
Kind of remarkable how there’s been – and continues to be – so much talk about Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy, while the Center is largely forgotten…
I’d think the best person to gain permission to explore what remains of the Oriental would be someone who: a) can locate a store manager during a relative moment of downtime (perhaps, say, during the early morning hours of a Monday or Tuesday – I’d guess not too many people go shopping then) – and a sympathetic-seeming manager at that; and, b) can offer a genuine, sympathetic anecdote or two and an understanding that what’s being made is an unusual request. That approach has worked for me in similar situations and I suspect it would in this case, too.
Does anyone remember what theatre it was Fox bought and converted into the studio for ‘The Chevy Chase Show’ (which was on the air for about as long as it’s taking me to type these words in the fall of ‘93)?
Following up on Woody’s ‘Alfie’ comment, which somehow wound up being mistakenly posted in response to the Oasis Theatre remembrance – the funny thing is, when I saw ‘Alfie’, both my friend and I commented that it was a great New York movie (and, yes, we were in the vast, vast minority who thought the ‘Alfie’ remake worked); little did we know…
What did the building located to the right of the El Capitan house, prior to serving currently as the studio from which ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ is broadcast and, previous to that, display space for interactive exhibits tied into films being shown next door?
There are obviously some great, clued-in business owners but, more often than not, it’s the day-to-day staff of a business who’s far more aware of what the public wants and responds to, but unfortunately they’re not the ones with the capital and the resultant clout and, inevitably, the staff (and the customers) suffer. Hopefully, with the current outcry, the Nasser family will catch on before long…
What a knock-out of a theatre; why didn’t it survive?
That’s what I imagined; thanks for the confirmation, saps.
The David closed during or not long after the initial shutdown of adult businesses in the city in the late ‘90s; I’m not sure what, if anything, is presently occupying that space.
What new theatre did the Public get after the collapse of the Selwyn? The present operator and, if I’m not mistaken, owner of the American Airlines Theater built on the site of the Selwyn is the Roundabout Theater Company. Also, did at least part of the Selwyn’s interior survive the collapse? Seeing a play there a couple of years ago, I spotted at least a few architectural elements within the auditorium which seemed something less than modern. Were those merely removed, preserved, and reinstalled in the rebuild/new construction or was every original element lost?
I very much suspect the State has officially been converted into and reopened as retail space, Jonathan; my suggestion would be to look elsewhere. Best of luck…
I agree with Warren. Given all encompassed within the Public complex, titling this entry the Little Theatre would be far more appropriate.
I think what ‘Manwithnoname’ is referring to is the two-year run from the time when General Cinemas opened the then-Wells Branch 8 in 1989 until the time they closed it in April of ‘91.
If it’s a record, it’s not by much. Loews opened a 20-screen all-stadium seating megaplex in the Pennsylvania town of North Versailles in October of 1999, only to see it get crushed by the competition another megaplex provided within a few miles down the road, and proceeded to shut it down in February of ‘01 as part of their then-bankruptcy proceedings. (The seats from that still-shuttered venue are used to this day in the Loews Theatre on 34th Street in midtown Manhattan.)
George C. Wolfe, then in the early years of his leadership of the Public, dropped the programming of the Little Theatre sometime around 1994. In a Village Voice article which ran not long thereafter, Fabiano Canosa, then without a regular film-booking home, expressed an interest in booking two of three screens of the then-23rd Street Triplex (now known as the two-cinema Chelsea West), which was at the time mostly a move-over house and venue for lesser genre product. Eventually, Canosa landed on his feet with not one, but two, steady gigs – at the Symphony Space/Thalia on 95th and Broadway and at the Anthology, at 2nd and 2nd in the East Village, positions both of which he holds to this day.
Do any original architectural elements remain within the Walgreen’s portion of the Plaza?
I did a search on the site for the Austin, Robert, but no match. I also searched some time back for a theatre you mentioned in response to one of my posts on the Nova Cinemas page a few months ago, the Astro, but found no info on that one either. What do you remember of those two theatres?
The Embassy 72nd Street was once a newsreel house, explaining the existence of its entrance turnstile.
According to today’s Boston Globe, the demolition of the Gaiety is on hold until at least next week, at which point presiding Judge Keith C. Long is to determine the legitimacy of the claim made by the owner of the Glass Slipper strip club his business would be harmed by the clearing of the Gaiety property.
The Corona Plaza page is @ /theaters/7131/
While ‘The Aviator’ was having its ‘premiere’ at the Ziegfeld last night, its little-publicized 12-day run (four-walled by Miramax for award-voting committees but with all remaining tickets to the public) at the Angelika was coming to an end.
It’s sad how a porn booking policy has obscured the architectural value and quite often the historic worth of so many classic movie theatres which were later demolished without so much of a peep from the public.
Kind of remarkable how there’s been – and continues to be – so much talk about Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy, while the Center is largely forgotten…
I’d think the best person to gain permission to explore what remains of the Oriental would be someone who: a) can locate a store manager during a relative moment of downtime (perhaps, say, during the early morning hours of a Monday or Tuesday – I’d guess not too many people go shopping then) – and a sympathetic-seeming manager at that; and, b) can offer a genuine, sympathetic anecdote or two and an understanding that what’s being made is an unusual request. That approach has worked for me in similar situations and I suspect it would in this case, too.
Does anyone remember what theatre it was Fox bought and converted into the studio for ‘The Chevy Chase Show’ (which was on the air for about as long as it’s taking me to type these words in the fall of ‘93)?
Following up on Woody’s ‘Alfie’ comment, which somehow wound up being mistakenly posted in response to the Oasis Theatre remembrance – the funny thing is, when I saw ‘Alfie’, both my friend and I commented that it was a great New York movie (and, yes, we were in the vast, vast minority who thought the ‘Alfie’ remake worked); little did we know…
The official web site of the Orpheum Theatre: http://www.laorpheum.com/
Any updates on the legal battle to save the Raymond?
When the Astor Plaza reopens as a concert venue, its seating capacity will be expanded to approximately 2200.
What did the building located to the right of the El Capitan house, prior to serving currently as the studio from which ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ is broadcast and, previous to that, display space for interactive exhibits tied into films being shown next door?